Merchandise chute



April 26, 1955 s. E. WEILER MERCHANDISE CHUTE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 11, 1953 INVENTOR. Stanton E. Wei/er BY April 26, 1955 s. E. WEILER MERCHANDISE CHUTE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 11. 1953 INVENTOR Stanton E. Wei/er United States Patent cc 2,707,042

Patented Apr. 26, 1955 of a plurality of substantially vertically extending, equispaced rods 10, four such rods being shown in the draw- MERCHANDISE CHUTE to its bottom.

Mansfield, we i h treats issuerassesses:his; May 1953 354,228 ilii ii cifi ire i'im fi l iii 23 5131? ii t ifi 5i 2 Claims. (Cl. 193-40) mension inside the lower part of the tubular cap 11, and

wardly adjacent their upper ends to engage holes 14 provided in lower flange projections 15 of the top cap 11. My invention relates to improvements in chutes, and 15 Vertically spaced from top cap 11 and from each other,

has particular significance in connection with bottle chutes are a plurality of annular rings 16, secured to the rods useful, for example, in back of a soft drink (or hard 10 by welding contacting portions of ring inner diamedrink) bar, for easily disposing of empty bottles. ters and rod outer diameters (see Fig. 4). These rings troughs for accommodating bottles and other merchanclosure formed by the rods.

disc, but, so far as I am aware, the prior art arrangements As shown in Fig. 1, one of these rings may be located have not been especially adapted to mass manufacture beadjacent the building floor 17 and another may be locause they require sheet matenal which must be tailored Gat d at th t m n of the red lower ends Which y to t each particular building and each particular size of be curved as at 18 so that bottles 13 Wlll discharge submerchandise to be handle j stantially horizontally into a bin such as that indicated Also, particularly in chutes which extend vertically, or y broken lin s at 19. substantially so, there has been a problem in connection n Order that bottles Will he Prevented from falling with installing retarders furnished for the purpose of p ly through the Chute, I have Provided ypreventing breakage by retarding free fall of the mercate retarding means, which in the illustrated embodichandise. Thus, in an ordinary sheet metal (or wood) ment comprises one retarding device located near the chute, substantial alteration of the sheet material must l w n f h chute, n a imilar ne a shor disbe made to accommodate one or more et der proptance beneath the floor. Each of these retarding devices erly spaced to meet the building and merchandise weight Comprises a bar 20 Pivotelly Connected at 21, that is at its requirements of each particular installation. p to one of the rings 16 and having its free end Spring It is an object of the present invention to provide simple biased into the enclosure by adjustable spring means semeans for overcoming the above-mentioned dilficulties. c red to adiacentrods.

Another object is to provide a chute for bottles and As wn, h rr gem nt takes the form of angle the like, comprising a plurality of parallel rods, uniirons 22 welded at 23 to the outside of adjacent rods 10, formly spaced apart at proper distance to accommodate and PP threaded flange 24, With e hell p 25 soft drink or beer bottles, rings being welded or other- 40 threededly g g g the flange for adlustably Controlwise secured around the rod at interval ling the bias of a compression spring 26, urging bar 20 A further object is to provide a bottle chute of the y from hell p 25, all to the end of P nting character referred to, having a novel form of retarder bottles from pp freely thllollgh the Chutetherein for preventing free falling of bottles therethrough. n operation, the chute is firs filled with empty bot- A still further object of the invention is to provide tles 13, and then every time a bottle is inserted at the such a chute having means therein for maintaining the p of ei h the lowermost bottle is elected from chute filled with bottles at all times, whereby as a bottle the t m of the chute. The spring pressed bars 20 is inserted into the top of the chute the lowermost bottle hold bottles from dropping entirely through the chute, will be ejected from the bottom of the chute e above objects together with others which will be ing height, can be accommodated by merely cutting and which may be later referred to may be attained by conmodated by merely providing the proper size retaining structing the improved bottle chute 1n the manner hererings 16, and any basement to ceiling height, any weight inafter described In detail and illustrated in the accombottles, and any other conditions (such as sliding fricpanying drawings, in which: ig. l is a side elevation of a bottle chute constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the P113; g g g ii i gggg the line Fig 2, been illustrated and described, various modifications may Fig. 4 an enlarged horizontal section on the line 4-4, obv19us1y l made and I deslre It to be understood that Fig. 1 but with the bottles removed; and,

F1g.'5 a cross sectional view along the line 55, Fig. w l I f h the PP hf claims 110 Cover ll 4 d h i my improved bottle retarding mechanism mod fications within the true spirit and scope of the mwhich forms a part of the invention. 5 n- B dl th means employed i th embodiment h e In the foregoing description, certain terms have been in illustrated and described comprises a bottle chute comused for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unprising a plurality of rods extending from a bell top necessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond mouth substantially vertically through a building floor th requirements f th prior t and therebelow. A plurality of ring members are vertiare d for deg to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construcenclosure which they form, and retarders are hinged to some of the rings with their free ends biased into the 23 gifi ig gg 2 225 2 izg i i sg g 9 enclosure by adjustable spring means secured to the rods. t th t l Is no With this arrangement, different building size requ refi o eexgc l p h nients can be met by merely using different size ring avmg now escn e e mvcn OI lsc'overy, t e

members, and different retarding effects can be simply construction, the operation, and use of preferred emof attachment of the rings on which retarders are hinged. results Obtained thereby; and the new and useful con- In accordance with the invention, a chute is fabricated structions, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereand extending outward therefrom pivotal connection, a bell cap threadedly engaging the threads of said annular flange, and a compression spring extending between said bell cap and said bar and serving to urge said bar into said enclosure with a force dependent gpon adjustment of said bell cap upon the threads of said ange.

2. In a free fall motion retarder for a merchandise chute having a plurality of equi-spaced rods forming an enclosure, the combination of a bar pivotally connected at its upper end to a portion of said chute outside of said enclosure, angle members attached to the outer sides of two adjacent rods, an externally threaded tubular memher connected to said angle members and extending outwardly therefrom below said points tion, a bell cap threadedly tubular member, and

of pivotal connecengaging the threads of said a compression spring extending between said bell cap and said bar and serving to urge said bar into said enclosure with a force dependent upon the adjustment of said bell cap upon the threads of said threaded tubular member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 549,121 Garnes Nov. 5, 1895 1,484,241 Tompkins Feb. 19, 1924 1,686,884 Trenor Oct. 9, 1928 FOREIGN PATENTS 382,376 Great Britain Oct. 27, 1932 542,392 GreatBritain Jan. 7, 1942 545,673 Great Britain June 8, 1942 803,311 France June 29, 1936 

